Tell us about your blog Chocolate Hair Sisters? What is it about and what inspired the idea?

So Chocolate Hair Sisters started off by mistake. Everyone kept commenting on my own Instagram pictures on how my girls deserve their own blog cause of their fashion sense which is basically my fashion sense since I buy their clothes lol! So I started the Chocolate Hair Sisters Instagram page and at the same time I had decided to stop taking the girls to the salon and start doing their hair by myself. Now here we are a few months down the road and I share how I do their hair and their clothes. I didn’t think it would be this much work but I love learning about natural hair and I get to bond with my girls.

You also feature your two beautiful daughters on the Chocolate Hair Sisters blog and Instagram account; tell us about their natural hair journey. Have they always been natural?

Yes I do, Miss K (6) and Nini (3). Miss K was natural for the first year of her life and then I had to cut her hair off due to cultural practices. Her hair grew back and we continued to keep it natural but that all ended with a bad salon experience which ended up with her having the big chop again at 4 years old. She has had the big chop twice and a couple of months of relaxed hair. Nini has been natural her whole life.

What is your daughters’ hair care regimen? Do you have the same hair regimen for both of them or does it differ for each one?

Our regimens are somewhat the same, we all wash our hair once a week and plait it for the week. We spritz our hair twice a day and base scalp every second day. Our products do differ though. In the beginning I thought the products I used on my own hair would work on the girls too but I found out quickly that was not true. I also believe the products don’t really matter as long as you know how to use them and follow good habits and that they don’t have any nasties in them.

Miss K:

Prior to her 2nd big chop, Miss K had been using Earthy SA products and her hair was responding really well to it and so I figured her hair loves Shea Butter and I make sure that’s what we use on her and olive oil.

Nini:

I thought Nini’s hair loved shea butter until I stopped using it. Her hair responds well to cream based products and also to coconut oil.

Will the product do what it says it will do? I have had some bad experiences with products where they do the exact opposite even though the instructions were followed to the T.

Is it a struggle finding products that work for their hair type or are you happy with the ones you’re currently using?

You know I can’t say there is a product I love 100% and will never live without it. I have not found that one just yet. So at the moment I am trying to find our favourites, so we are trying out a few SA products and hopefully we will find something we love soon. One thing that is hard to find is cream-based products for Nini.

Which type of hairstyle(s) do your daughters like?

The girls love anything with beads, lots and lots of beads. In the beginning I did indulge them and let them choose all colours but we have started compromising and choose only 2 colours at a time. I try do quick hairstyles that are still cute. So two strand twists, pig tails with bobble ties, wool braids, box braids.

How do you keep your kids entertained on wash days or while styling their hair?

I keep the kids entertained either by letting them watch videos on YouTube or cartoons on TV.

Do you have a favourite hair salon that you take them to?

The only ‘natural hair friendly’ salon we’ve been to is Candi & Co in Randburg. There are few which have opened in the last couple of months and I am planning on visiting them to try them out.

How do you teach your daughters to love their natural hair?

I don’t think it’s something I was aware that I am even doing. They see me with my hair and to them it’s just the way it is. I download colouring in pages with afros, and I also buy books where the main characters are girls with coily and big hair. I have recently started getting them t shirts made that have fun slogans relating to natural hair.

Any hair care tips you’d like to share with the FroChic readers, especially when it comes to taking care of young children’s hair?

I think the biggest thing is, if there is tears or any discomfort, you need to stop immediately. Whether you are at the salon or at home. Painful hair styling\washing experiences will make kids hate their hair and that’s the last thing that any one wants. Keep it simple and quick. Kids get bored easily and therefore they need to be done with it very quickly so they can continue playing. Try and involve the kids as much as possible, when looking for new styles I let my girls’ google what they would like and I try recreate something similar.

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I am currently a final year Publishing student at the University of Pretoria and an editorial intern at an academic publishing house.

Why did you decide to go natural? Briefly take us through your natural hair journey.

As a child, I saw that my mother valued hair from a young age as she would always plait it and make sure it looked neat (both mine and hers). She was a fan of natural hair and kept mine natural until the day she left me at the salon for a little while. That’s when they proceeded to relax my hair, which upset my mom a lot. She made sure to take care of it though, making sure I got hair treatment every two weeks. In Matric I decided to go bald as I had never cut my hair before and that’s where my real hair journey began. I started going onto natural hair blogs to try and figure out how to take care of my hair. Two years later, I did the Big Chop again, this time with a more thorough understanding of what my hair needed to grow.

What are some of the challenges and advantages you’ve experienced with having natural hair?

As with most natural sistas, combing my hair in the mornings. I’m lucky in that as a student, people are not really bothered by how well combed your hair is on a daily basis. I do however need to look neat when I go to work and events or special places. The other challenge is that it is incredibly time consuming. I do not have the patience to twist out or plait my hair every night to ensure that it stretches. So I pretty much just let it coil then de-coil every time I wash it.

What is your hair care regimen?

This may sound really strange, but I use Vaseline Cocoa Butter. I’m one of those people who like to keep things simple, and this is definitely evident in my grooming as well. To wash, I use the ORS (Previously known as Organic Root Stimulator) Aloe Vera Shampoo and condition about once a month with Organic’s Replenishing Conditioner. I also use the Nourishing Sheen Spray on my braids.

What results do you expect from a hair product when you purchase it?

I expect it to do what it says on the label. I don’t purchase hair products that much but if I bought specific hair products, I’d expect them to moisturise my hair while protecting it and helping it grow at the same time.

Is it a struggle finding products that work for your natural hair or are you happy with the ones you’re currently using?

I’m very content with everything I currently use.

Are you planning on growing locs in the future?

No. I like my hair being versatile and changing hairstyles on a regular basis.

Do you have a favourite hair salon?

Not really. I have a hairdresser who does my hair. She’s flexible enough to come to me if necessary, or I just go to her workplace in Sunnyside, Pretoria.

What type of hairstyles do you like to rock?

My Afro 🙂

In winter I like protective styles like weaves or braids, depending on the amount of time I have on that day, and money as well of course.

Any hair care tips you’d like to share with the FroChic readers?

Love your hair the way it is and stop wishing it looked like the next person’s. As Chimamanda would say, “Hair is political,” so let your hair identity be a true reflection of who you are.

What’s your (fashion) style generally?

Simple. I’m also trying to make my wardrobe more elegant though I don’t want to stray from simple and chic.

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As mentioned before in one my previous posts I’m not really a huge fan of winter. Not only is it just annoyingly cold for me but my face (and my entire body) gets really, really dry! 🙁 So I need every little bit of moisture that I can get. This is the time when I need to up my water intake and also use face products that are really moisturising to help my skin.

So this winter I have been loving these two products:

1. Sorbet Hydrating Face Mask

This mask was actually recommended by a beauty therapist at Sorbet some few months back when I went for a facial (my fave pamper treatment). She said my face was very dry and recommended I try use hydrating masks to give my skin that extra boost. So I’ve been using this mask since then. I use it probably twice a month and I can really feel the difference.

My face just sucks up all that moisture and it feels so soft and plump afterwards! The mask itself is watery, it feels cool on the skin and it’s quite hydrating. You leave the mask on for about 15 to 20min and you don’t rinse it off. You can rub any excess oil down your neck or on your hands. I love treating myself to this and it feels like I’m having a spa facial.

I bought my mask from Clicks but you can also find it at Sorbet beauty salons.

2. Nativechild Avocado oil

Yes you read right, I use oil to moisturise my face…and it really works! A month ago I wouldn’t have thought of putting oil on my face! However about two months back when I bought The Body Shop Vitamin E day cream and night cream to combat my dry skin a fellow blogger, Nandi of Hair of Heritage, mentioned that 100% Avocado oil works just as well since it has Vitamin E in it. I must say The Body Shop products were good but they are also qute pricey…so I decided to given the avocado oil from Nativechild a go once my day cream ran out…And so far, so good 🙂

I still have my Body Shop night cream (which I use only at night) so I only apply two drops of Nativechild Avocado oil to the palm of my hands and massage it all over my face every morning.

Obviously different products work differently for different people but this is what works for me to keep my face soft and moisturised. I also like the fact that the avocado oil 100% natural.

Another bonus is that it also doubles up as a hair oil for my scalp and locs – woop!

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I have another video up on my YouTube channel and this time I show you how I achieve my spiral curls using flexirods.

I bought my flexirods from Clicks, but you can also find them at Dischem. I used about 16 of them for my entire head and I wrapped 4 locs around each flexirod. You can use more or less locs depending how many locs you have and if you want looser or tighter curls.

One important thing to remember is to please wrap the flexirods on damp hair and not on soaking wet hair…if your hair is soaking wet it will take much longer to dry. I left my flexirods in for the rest of the afternoon and overnight to allow them to airdry. It is a bit uncomfortable to sleep with them on, but you will survive 🙂

Also make sure that your locs are thoroughly dry before you remove the flexirods or else the curls will just fall and not hold.

These curls will get looser with each day but they should last you for about a week or 10 days.